8 Mar 2014

SBW faces four-week ban

9:08 am on 8 March 2014

Rugby league's controversial shoulder charge is again under the spotlight with Sydney Roosters and Kiwis forward Sonny Bill Williams in line for a four-week ban after being charged in the wake of Thursday night's NRL season opener.

Williams has been charged for a tackle on South Sydney prop George Burgess, which happened in the final minute of the Roosters 28-8 loss.

If he takes an early guilty plea Williams will get a three-game ban.

But the Roosters have all weekend to pour over the video evidence before entering a plea, and the club has pledged to do exactly that in a bid to keep their star backrower on the field.

The Roosters began reviewing footage on Friday afternoon almost immediately after Williams was charged, believing there were other incidents which show inconsistency in the judicial process.

Ben Te'o was placed on report for a hit on Williams minutes after it was seemingly missed by the ground officials and didn't draw a penalty.

The Souths' back-rower wasn't charged over the tackle.

And Roosters young gun Dylan Napa was penalised over a suspect hit that didn't draw the ire of the Match Review Committee either.